Animals and Lifecycles - Lifecycle of a Frog (Amphibian)

Lifecycle of a frog

Eggs

Frogs usually reproduce in spring. A male makes a mating call and a female moves over close to him. She lays eggs in the water and the male fertilises them. This is called Amplexus. The eggs are inside a jelly-like fluid and they float on the water in clusters. There may be between 20 and 30,000 eggs, but fish and other predators will try to eat them so not all the eggs survive.

Tadpole

Tadpoles develop inside the eggs until they are ready to hatch. Then the outer part of the eggs breaks up and the tadpoles swim out. They have external gills for breathing under water, and small mouths for sucking up algae. Their tails grow longer very quickly to help them swim around and find food.

Froglet, also called Metamorph

The tadpoles’ bodies start to change, ready for them live out of water as froglets. Their stomachs get ready to digest insects, their bodies shrink and they develop hind legs and then front legs. All this can take from 12 days to 3 years, depending on the species of frog. When the froglets hop out of the water they look like frogs but still have short tails.

Frog

A frog is fully developed when it has lost its tail and can live out of water and catch insects. After 1 to 4 years the males and females are ready to breed and their lifecycle starts again.